Friday, July 15, 2016

Marine Life on the Harbor

Hi everyone,

This was our first full week at the Save the Harbor sites,
and we were busy! On Monday, we started the day at Courageous Sailing Center,
where we pulled up some lobster traps and took a look at what was inside. We
caught our first lobster, and the kids were very excited to hold the lobster
and get a closer look. We made sure to put rubber bands on its claws before we
took it out to show the kids. We also caught several green crabs, a rock crab,
some starfish, and two tiny fish. The kids spent a lot of time looking through
the lobster trap to see what we caught, naming the animals, and taking pictures
of them.

Holding a lobster and starfish that we caught in the trap

Later that day, we went to Community Boating on the
Esplanade. Here, we help out with an environmental science class, where
students learn about the history of the harbor and how we can keep the Charles
River clean and healthy. After talking with the students about the harbor and
the river, we went out to the lagoon to go fishing. At the end of the day, I
saw a kid catch a fish for the first time! It was a great reward to have caught
a fish after spending so much time fishing over the past week and not catching
anything. He caught a small sunfish.

Our first catch at Community Boating!

On Tuesday at Community Boating, we talked to the kids about
the history of the Harbor Islands, and many didn’t know that at one point,
Spectacle Island was used as a landfill for trash. We also talked about how
long different types of trash (paper, aluminum, plastic, and Styrofoam) take to
decompose and about the importance of recycling. To finish the afternoon, we
went kayaking in the lagoons along the Charles River, and we found a baby
painted turtle sitting on a lily pad. We also told the kids to keep an eye out
for trash, and are planning to do a trash-pickup in the river next time we go
kayaking.

On Wednesday, I went to Carson Beach, and I had a ton of fun
playing with campers on the beach. When the tide was low, the kids and I had a
great time looking for snails and hermit crabs in the ocean. The kids
engineered a tide pool and waterway to house the animals they caught. Overall,
it was a great day, and we were all excited to get a closer look at the
wildlife at Carson Beach.

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Welcome!

Save the Harbor/Save the Bayis a non-profit public-interest Boston Harbor environmental advocacy organization whose mission is to restore and protect Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Bay, the Boston Harbor Islands, the Boston Harbor region's public beaches, Boston's waterfront and the marine environment and share them with the public, for everyone to enjoy.

Since 1986, Save the Harbor / Save the Bay has been the driving force behind the transformation of Boston Harbor from one of the dirtiest urban harbors in America to one of the cleanest in the world.

As a result of our advocacy, Boston Harbor has been transformed from a "Harbor of Shame" into a source of recreational, educational and economic opportunity and civic pride. Today the beaches of South Boston are among the cleanest urban beaches in the nation, the Boston Harbor Islands are a National Park, and Boston's waterfront has become a compelling destination for residents and visitors alike.

Working with a broad base of civic, corporate, government, scientific, philanthropic and community partners, Save the Harbor / Save the Bay continues to strengthen the connections between communities and the harbor, and promote the increasingly important impact Boston Harbor has on the region’s economy.

Each year Save the Harbor / Save the Bay runs 2 freeYouth Environmental Education Programs that combine recreation and hands-on education to bring Boston Harbor alive for thousands of Boston area young people. Since 2003, we have connected nearly 250,000 youth and teens to Boston Harbor, the Boston Harbor Islands, our region's public beaches and Boston's waterfront.

Our "Boston Harbor Explorers" program serves thousands of young people at the Courageous Sailing Center in Charlestown, the Piers Park Sailing Center and Constitution Beach in East Boston, DCR's Carson Beach in South Boston, at Community Boating on the Charles River, on Black's Creek in Quincy, and at Camp Harbor View on Long Island and at The Boston Children's Museum.Our"All Access Boston Harbor"program departs weekdays from the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion in South Boston, and brings thousands of youth and teens from more than 100 community groups to Georges or Spectacle Island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Park on the Provincetown II.

OurBetter Beaches Program supports dozens of free events and activities on the region's public beaches each year in Nahant, Lynn, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy and Hull.

We hope we can count on you as we share Boston Harbor with 30,000 young people on 28 free island excursions and at 40 free events and programs on the region's public beaches in 2018.For more information about Save the Harbor/Save the Bay please visit our website at www.savetheharbor.org